


Aftershock

by PrehistoricCat



Category: Primeval
Genre: Angst, Gen, Gen Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-08
Updated: 2012-03-20
Packaged: 2017-11-01 16:08:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/358730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrehistoricCat/pseuds/PrehistoricCat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Destroying New Dawn should have prevented the future that Matt was from... it didn't.  That future is here.  Now.</p><p>Set post series 5, so contains spoilers.  Also, warning for multiple character deaths. Written for AngstBigBang on LiveJournal.  My thanks to evenstar_estel for the beta, and to luvconnor for the artwork</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

[](http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v292/XxbagpussxX/?action=view&current=Aftershock-Banner800x350.jpg)

 

Abby knew something was in the air and she didn't like it. Back in the Cretaceous, she had taught Connor how to read the natural world; how to take their cues from the behaviour of the various creatures around them. If the wildlife seemed concerned about something, then that meant they should be concerned too. She knew that animals can sense impending danger, whether it be from an approaching predator or some force of nature. Right now, the creatures in the menagerie were agitated about something, and that made Abby nervous.

She'd left Connor, Matt, Emily and Becker at King's Cross station clearing up the aftermath of the anomaly. They had a train full of very confused passengers who had found themselves in the Triassic period instead of on their usual commute from central London. When the anomaly had finally closed, Abby had discovered a pair of Morganucodons that had somehow come through and had been missed by the clean up team. She'd been fascinated by the small, weasel- like, creatures, and had managed to capture them and brought them back to the ARC. It was whilst she was placing them into a pen for quarantining that she got her first real sense that something was terribly wrong.

There was a loud rumbling noise; almost as if a high speed train was careering towards her. Then everything seemed to start vibrating and the creatures started pacing around; some seemed to be trying to escape their enclosures, others rearing up onto their hind legs in a panic. Gripping the edge of the desk, she looked down into the main holding area. There was definite fear amongst the inhabitants and Abby wished there was something she could do to calm them.

Suddenly, the entire building shook violently and Abby was thrown off her feet. This was like nothing she'd ever experienced before; earthquakes on this scale were unheard of in England. She rolled herself under the desk, hoping it would protect her from anything falling, and remained still.

It felt like an eternity, but in reality it lasted a matter of seconds. Everything fell silent; eerily silent, and for a moment Abby almost thought she was dead. When she was certain that the shaking had stopped, she crawled out and moved over to the large window to check on the creatures. Thankfully, they seemed to be calming down and unharmed – the thick lead walls had remained intact and the only sign of any damage was a large crack in the window which could be repaired fairly easily.

Her concerns then turned to her colleagues working in the ARC; Jess, Lester, the few remaining security and technical support guys... she hoped that they'd also managed to find somewhere safe whilst the earthquake hit. The phone in her office was dead; the quake must have knocked out the phone lines, so she made her way to the airlock and went through to go into the connecting corridor between the menagerie and the main hub of the ARC. The air was thick with a strange smell; not gas but something Abby couldn't define. Clearly, this wasn't just an earthquake.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed her way through the door. Immediately, her eyes began to burn and she was gasping for air; whatever it was in the air it was toxic. She went back into her office again, realising that she would need breathing equipment to stand any chance of getting to the others. Fortunately, each office was equipped with basic emergency kits, including a small portable oxygen canister and a gas mask.

She was working purely from familiarity of the building whilst her eyes stung and watered, feeling her way along the long corridor until she reached the doorway into the hub where Jess worked. Abby was worried – she expected to hear shouting, or at least the sound of people coughing and choking in the toxic air, but there was the same eerie silence here that she'd left behind in the menagerie. She hardly dared open the door, fearing what was on the other side, but she had to know...

When she was younger, Jack had made her watch the “Terminator” movies. There'd been a scene in one of them; a nightmare sequence where the world was destroyed by a nuclear bomb – Judgement day. The scene in front of her now bore a fairly close resemblance to that and Abby felt her stomach lurch. Her eyes scanned frantically for signs of life but there was nothing but stillness. Finally, her eyes rested on what remained of the console and monitors of the ADD; the screens flickered and rolled a jumble of meaningless letters and numbers, huge cracks across them and sparks flying from one corner. Then Abby felt her stomach twist in agony and her throat tightened. It had to be Jess; but there was little left to positively identify the seemingly charred remains sitting in the chair. Removing the mouthpiece of her gas mask, Abby was violently sick.

After some minutes, Abby managed to gather her thoughts and her wits enough to put her mask back on. Her throat felt like it was on fire, her stomach was in knots and her heart was pounding hard in her chest. It would have been easy to have just stood and screamed or cried – but right now she had to think about her own survival, and finding the others. She fumbled for her phone in her back pocket and tried to call Connor, but the line wouldn't connect.

“No! No! No!” She desperately needed to hear Connor's voice more than anything in the whole world. She could cope with anything if Connor was with her, even this nightmare. She had to hope that he was with Becker, Matt and Emily and that they were all looking after each other. She tried not to think about poor Jess; it would eventually be a little comfort to know that she wouldn't have experienced pain, death was probably instantaneous. As Abby ran towards the exit, she passed three other corpses; some of Becker's men at a guess. Her stomach retched again, but she'd already emptied the contents when she saw Jess's body, so nothing would come. Fighting her nausea, she stopped to take an EMD from one of them; not caring whether it worked or not, she just needed the security of having one in her hand.

As she was about to leave, a thought struck her. Lester. She had to know; see for herself. Maybe he wasn't in the ARC? Perhaps he'd gone off to one of his mysterious meetings with the Minister and was sat in some fancy restaurant oblivious to what had happened? She turned back and made her way up the staircase to his office.

What remained of his body was surreal; like a statue or something frozen in time. His arm was poised over the handset of the phone on his desk; Abby could almost imagine him feeling the first tremors like she had and him reaching for the phone to demand to know what was going on. The tears stinging her eyes would not fall; she couldn't allow them to yet. If she cracked now, she may as well just resign herself to death too. Grieving could come later, once she was out of this situation and back in Connor's arms.

It was the thought of Connor that got her legs moving again, taking her outside into the open. She met the same stillness; the same silence, and that was when she knew. She wasn't going to find Connor, or the others. Everyone was gone. Whatever it was that had happened had happened to everyone except her. Some evil twist of fate had put her inside the protective walls of the menagerie and kept her and the creatures alive whilst everything else around her had died.

She was alone; the only survivor of some horrific event that she couldn't explain. She choked, dropped to her knees and let out an anguished cry before sobbing uncontrollably. Every inch of her body ached, her head was spinning and then she felt faint. Just before she passed out completely, a pair of strong arms scooped her up and held her tight.

-o-

Abby awoke with a start. That had been some nightmare. She scanned her surroundings and realised that she wasn't at home in her own bed; this room looked vaguely familiar but she couldn't place it. When she swallowed, the burning sensation in her throat and lungs made her gasp out and she panicked, struggling for breath. It hadn't been a nightmare.

“Here, easy!” A familiar voice said. “Drink this.” A metal flask was handed to her.

“Matt?” she managed to rasp out. “Where are...”

“Shh, we can talk later. Let's just focus on getting some water into you, you'll feel better then.”

Abby did as she was told, the cold water soothing her sore throat. She realised that this was the panic room in the ARC; the only other place that had lead lining the walls. If Matt had made it here, then surely so had the others? She tried to sit up, hoping to see a concerned Connor sitting in the corner waiting for her to wake up, but it was just Matt. He was half watching her, half checking something on his wrist. Abby had seen him use his wristband before; it was a device from his time that contained computer files – he'd used it to show her what New Dawn did to the world.

“Just checking the oxygen levels,” he said, noticing her looking at him. “We all had one of these. We're OK here for a while anyway, we can save the oxygen tanks for when we really need them.”

“What happened? Where are the others? How did you get here so quick?”

“My guess is this is something to do with Philip's anomaly, but I'm not sure what... this is what happened in my time, but it took several years to get to this stage. The others are probably dead, unless they happened to be underground and then perhaps they have a fighting chance... and I was here the whole time.”

Abby blinked away tears. She hoped they had made it to the underground tube station at least and that right now they were making their way here. She didn't want to entertain the idea that everyone else was dead. Matt had survived so there was still a glimmer of hope, and whilst she still had hope there was a reason to stay strong. “What do you mean, you were here the whole time? I left you at the anomaly site, you were joking around with Becker.”

Matt shook his head. “The last time you saw me, I was driving into Philip's anomaly with Connor's prototype in the back. When the anomalies imploded on each other, I was knocked unconscious for a moment. As I came round, I saw you guys getting into the car and I tried shouting to you.”

Abby blinked. “I don't understand... you came out of the wreckage and...”

“That wasn't me; or at least it was but it was another me. He must be from the new future we created by destroying New Dawn and somehow he came through before the anomalies collapsed. Have you any idea what it's like, seeing yourself like that?”

“So there's two of you?” Abby raised a smile. Connor would have a field day with that; it would be like he'd died and gone to Sci-Fi geek heaven... and then a lump welled up into her throat and she choked it down. Connor wasn't dead, she had to stop thinking along those lines.

“Basically, yes,” Matt returned her smile. “Scary thought eh?”

Abby blushed, and drank another long mouthful of water. “You came back to the ARC?”

“I followed you – got here just in time to hear you propose to Connor; congratulations by the way!”

“Thanks,” Abby whispered, her fingers fiddling with the gold band that Connor had slipped onto her finger only a few hours ago.

“I tried to tell the other me that he needed to go back; having two of us here could potentially cause all sorts of issues, and then Emily arrived. She's pretty open-minded but I didn't think she was quite ready to take all of this in so I hid. I came to the panic room because I knew it's the only room that doesn't have security cameras. I needed to consider my next move; maybe enlist Connor's help... and then all of this happened.”

Abby began to cough; her lungs burning and her throat constricting. Matt passed her an oxygen mask and told her to breathe deep and slow and sat on the edge of the makeshift bed she was laid on. He tried to ease her suffering, but deep down he knew Abby was fighting more than just a physical pain and him stroking her back and shoulders was not going to be much help.

“We should go and find the others,” Abby said, pulling the mask from her face.

“They're dead, Abby.”

“You don't know that!” She slid off the bed and started to strap the oxygen tank to her back. “What if they're alive and need our help? The people we work with, our friends... the people we love. How can you not try?”

“You saw what it was like out there! No-one could survive that.” Abby was already pulling at the heavy door trying to get out of the room. “Abby! We have... 5, maybe 6 hours worth of oxygen each. We have to save it to use once we've worked out what happened and if we can put it right.” He moved towards her, pleading with her not to open the door.

“Maybe I just need to see for myself.” Abby glared defiantly at Matt, then pulled the door open. “You can either help me, or stay here and do nothing. It's your conscience.”

He grabbed his own oxygen tank and was behind her in seconds.

-o-

Abby realised she'd been here before; cars abandoned, crumbling buildings, an uneasy stillness and no sign of life. It was just like the future she'd seen with Danny, Becker and Connor when they rescued Jack; the place where they'd followed Helen Cutter to and ended up trapped for a year in the Cretaceous. She felt a chill run down the length of her spine as she and Matt moved swiftly through the deserted street. Abby tried not to look at the bodies scattered on the floor; poor innocents caught up in whatever this thing was, fleeing for their lives in vain. She had to remain focussed on getting to King's Cross and finding the others.

Matt tugged at her arm and made her turn to face him. “The station is miles away, Abby. This is crazy.”

Abby turned her head and then ran to one of the abandoned cars. She looked for keys, hoping whoever had left it had not had time to grab them from the ignition. “Do you know how to hotwire a car?” She called out to Matt. He frowned, she then ran over to another abandoned car; no keys there either. It took five more cars before Abby found what she was looking for and she waved Matt over. This would cut down their journey time considerably and save precious oxygen. Abby started the car and screeched off at speed.

“Abby, slow down! You'll get us both killed!” Matt yelled. She ignored him; her mind set on only one goal. Matt sank back into his seat and pulled the seatbelt around him, looking out of the front window. “Do you even know which way you're going?”

“King's Cross,” Abby muttered, then laughed. “No, I'm not sure which way we're going.”

“Take a left here,” Matt said, nodding at the junction ahead. Abby turned left, the tyres screaming as she refused to even slow down for the corner. Matt glanced down at his hand gripping the edge of his seat; his knuckles were white. Suddenly, he was thrown forward. Abby had slammed on the brakes for some reason. Her face was white and she was staring ahead. In front of them were the two ARC vehicles, doors open and surrounded by the charred remains of their colleagues.

“Abby, let's go back to the ARC,” Matt said softly, stroking her hand that was gripping the steering wheel.

“I need to see,” Abby said calmly. She unfastened her seatbelt and opened the car door.

Matt closed his eyes. There wouldn't be anything identifiable; it was pointless going to look, but he realised she needed to find that out for herself to get some closure. He watched her move slowly towards the first vehicle, then bend down to examine the remains just by the driver's door. She walked around, stopping at each body in turn – 4 in total. Becker, Emily, Connor and the other version of himself. She turned and made her way back to the car and slid into the seat again.

“We should go back,” she whispered.

Matt nodded. “You OK? Do you want me to drive?”

“No, I'm not OK!” Abby finally snapped. “I couldn't even tell which one was Connor!” she choked down her sobs. “I just wanted to... I just wanted to say goodbye and tell him I love him!” Matt folded his arms around her and pulled her into his chest, stroking her hair and just letting her cry.

“He knew, Abby. He knew how much you loved him. That's why you're wearing his ring on your finger.”

“But I never actually said the words, Matt!” Abby pulled away and took a long breath from her oxygen mask. “I never actually said 'I love you' to him.”

“Actions speak louder than words. He knew.” He felt tears stinging his own eyes; Abby wasn't the only one that hadn't said 'I love you' to the person they really cared about. As Abby sank against his chest again, he let his tears fall silently for Emily and for the rest of the team he had come to trust and rely on.

-o-

Matt had no idea how long they had been sat there; holding each other and finding a little comfort in the other's presence, but he knew that they had to pull themselves together and think about how they were going to simply survive before they could even begin to work out what had happened. He looked up and scanned around; food had to be their priority. There were some emergency provisions at the ARC, but they would barely see them through until tomorrow.

“Abby, is there a supermarket around here?” he said.

Abby sat up and wiped her eyes. “Not sure, but I think we passed one a little way back.”

“Good. Turn the car around and let's go find it.”

They pulled up outside the supermarket and stood outside, trying to take in the scene. The front windows were smashed; not from people trying to break in, but from people trying to escape. Abby supposed that, like her, they believed it was an earthquake and thought they'd be safer outside. Matt stepped through the largest hole, but Abby remained on the pavement outside.

“You can't just take stuff, Matt!”

“Abby, take a look around you! Everyone else is dead. As far as we know, we're the only people alive right now. This is about our survival.” He disappeared from sight and by the time Abby had found him, he had a trolley and was throwing things into it. “The fresh produce is no good to us; it's probably contaminated with whatever it was that killed everyone, but the tins and packets should be OK. Get things we can heat easily over a gas stove; soup, baked beans, stew...I don't want to use up any of the power in the backup generator if we can help it, we'll need it to get a computer up and running and start working out how we can put this right.”

Abby watched him for a moment, then resigned herself to the task. He was right, they had to concentrate on staying alive and she had to put the thought that this was effectively looting out of her head. She grabbed her own trolley and made her way over to where the bottled water was. She filled it with as many bottles as she could then wheeled it up the aisle towards the window and then out to the car.

They spent a good hour filling the car with everything they could think of; they both insisted on some particular items - Abby got soap, toothpaste and deodorant – basic toiletries that she had really missed in the Cretaceous, and Matt took alcohol and chocolate – some luxuries to get them through the dark times ahead. The car was so full, the suspension was stretched to its limit and Abby had to drive very slowly back to the ARC. They unloaded in silence, taking their provisions to the panic room, focussing purely on the task and trying not to think too much about the devastation around them. Losing it now would be their undoing, they both knew it.

When the last of the food had been taken in, Matt bolted the door to the panic room securely and turned to Abby. He didn't need to say anything; his look said it all. Neither could see beyond the next couple of hours.


	2. Chapter 2

He tried to call out to them, but his throat was too sore and the sound was barely audible. They were his only hope and somehow he had to go after them, even though every breath he took was a forced gasp.

It wasn't the first time Nathan Somerville had seen these people – he'd been watching them for  
almost three years now. He was determined to get answers and find who was responsible for the death of his childhood friend. The bunch of scientists and soldiers seemed to be the only ones who would be able to help him.

He'd only been fourteen when it happened. The glowing light of the gateway haunted virtually every waking moment, and the sight of Daniel being ripped to shreds by a pack of dog-like creatures plagued his nightmares. The doctors had told him that his memory of events was not reliable; the boys had been under the influence of the cheap cider Nathan had stolen from his older brother and Daniel had been killed by a pack of dogs belonging to the Gamekeeper on the private Estate that the boys had wandered onto that afternoon. Nathan quickly learnt to let people think that was the truth so that they'd leave him alone; but he knew what he'd seen and he wasn't going to rest.

And now, five years on, Nathan had found himself caught up in something he couldn't explain. The world had gone crazy in the last few hours. Those lights were appearing everywhere and prehistoric creatures were rampaging through the streets. He'd watched the power station collapse in front of his very eyes and a giant ball of light appear in it's place, and then the Irish guy drove into it and did something that made it disappear. The Scientists all left, looking very pleased with themselves, and the skies were clearing. It seemed it was all over.

Then, as he was making his way back to the road, the air began to crackle. He turned, and saw a disturbance in the air where the huge gateway had been. At first he thought it was going to reappear, but it didn't. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. Nathan could feel the energy in the air and he just knew he had to try and warn those Scientists. He ran in the direction he'd seen them go, hoping they'd headed back towards the building that seemed to be their headquarters. He stumbled, and as he scrambled to his feet he glanced back to where the power station had been. The air shimmered and seemed to be pulsing, and a wave of energy was bursting from the core spreading outwards at a rapid pace whilst the ground began to shake and rumble. He had no idea what it was, but he decided he didn't want to wait around to find out. He found a hole in the ground covered by a cast iron lid; something to do with the power station. With only seconds to spare, he had managed to jump inside and pull the lid over himself.

He emerged some time later, coughing and spluttering. He sensed that everything had changed; the eerie silence around him made him shiver and his skin became goose bumped. His chest tightened as he struggled for air and suddenly realised the reason for the silence – everything else had died. His gut reaction was to use his asthma inhaler, and it did help a little, enough to get him to another out building. Inside he found some face masks with air filters on, similar to the sort surgeons wore to stop them breathing infected air into an open wound. It wouldn't be perfect, but it would do until he could find somewhere safe with breathable air.

As he wandered into town, he blinked back tears. The devastation around him was too much to take in; any minute now he'd wake up from this nightmare. Bodies everywhere; barely recognisable as human and the air smelt heavily of sulphur. That was when he saw them, two of the Scientists, the Irish guy and the blonde girl. They were loading food into a car – there was hope! If they were alive then maybe others were too.

He bit down on his bottom lip, determined not to cry as he watched the car drive away. He would find them; he had to. His own survival depended on it.

-o-

Abby had spent the last hour in the Menagerie. She'd told Matt she was worried about the creatures because they'd been so unsettled when she'd left them, and he believed her. Truth was, she needed to be on her own for a while. Her world had been shattered into a thousand pieces. It was only a few hours ago that she and Connor had finally sorted out their issues of the last few months, and from somewhere deep inside she had finally released whatever it was that had held her back from giving herself to him completely. There was a new hope there, and she was allowing herself to think there was a future for them; marriage, a baby – both were more than just a possibility.

But now, Connor was dead and that future had gone. She was alone, and for the first time in her life that wasn't what she wanted. Deep down she knew she had to remain strong if she was going to survive, but what good was staying alive without the one person she wanted to be alive with?

She wasn't one for crying; showing your emotions had been seen as a weakness when she was growing up and she took that into her adult life. It had been Connor that had shown her that it was OK to show someone how you felt occasionally. Now she couldn't hold her tears back any longer. Burying her head in her arms, she leaned on the desk and let them flow.

“Why?” she screamed out angrily, banging her fist down and making the objects on the desk jump. Her entire body shook violently as her sobs grew louder and almost choked her. She waited for comforting arms to fold around her, but knew none would come.

-o-

Matt had tried to convince Abby to stay with him in the panic room, but secretly he was grateful to have some time alone with his own thoughts. He'd only known these people for a year or so, but they were like family.

When he came here, he'd never expected to get close to anyone. Relationships of any kind were the last thing on his mind. He had a single focus; to find out who destroyed the world by interfering with the anomalies and stop them. It could have been any one of them, and he had to remain detached to make his task easier. He hadn't bargained on Emily though. Somehow, she'd connected with him, despite their lives being worlds apart. He wished he'd allowed himself to do something about that connection now. He would never know what it would be like to feel her soft skin on his fingertips, or the warmth of her lips on his. Now he knew why his father had tried to warn him about getting too close. It hurt too much when you lost someone.

Crying wasn't something Matt did. He'd learnt from a young age that emotions just got in the way of the job in hand. But he now realised that all those years of bottling it up wasn't good for him and it was all flooding out. His head felt like it was about to explode, and the anguished sob that fell from his mouth didn't sound like his voice at all. Tears felt almost alien to him, as did this feeling of being completely alone and lost.

He had no idea how many minutes had passed when his thoughts were interrupted by a banging sound. It wasn't coming from the door, so it wasn't Abby wanting to come back in; it seemed further away from within the ARC itself. He listened, and it came again. It wasn't rhythmic, it was an insistent banging like someone was trying to attract his attention – and they'd certainly got it.

Grabbing his oxygen mask, Matt stuck his head out of the door and listened again, trying to decide where the sound was coming from. Abby had heard it too, and she was making her way across the loading bay area towards the large external doors where she took deliveries of food for the menagerie.

“There's someone out there!” she hissed. Matt nodded. There was someone else alive in this nightmare, and they were obliged to help. He pulled across the giant bolt securing the door and switched on the emergency power so that the electronic security lock could also be undone.

Abby pulled the heavy door open and he fell in; a pathetic, scrawny looking youth, probably no more than18 years old. His face was blackened with the dirt in the air and his cheeks stained with the trails of tears that had flowed. He was struggling to breathe, and grabbed at Abby's oxygen mask desperately, choking and trying to speak.

“Shh, it's OK,” Abby soothed, pulling her mask from her mouth and placing it over his. “Try to calm down and take long, deep breaths. You'll feel better once you have some air in you.” The panic in his eyes seemed to disappear as Abby spoke and she smiled down at him, reaching for his hand and squeezing it.

“We should get him into the panic room,” Matt said, pushing the door closed and sealing it again. Abby moved away so that Matt could scoop the young man into his arms and she held the mask over his mouth as they carried him into the safety of the room. He was already breathing more easily by the time Matt placed him on the bed, so Abby took the mask off and held a cup of water to his lips.

“Thank you,” he rasped.

“I'm Matt Anderson, and this is Abby Maitland... who are you and what on earth were you doing out there?”

“Nathan, Nathan Somerville. I was at... I saw the power station explode...” His words were cut off by his choking cough, and Abby made him take more water. She exchanged a look with Matt; if this young man had seen New Dawn collapse, then what else did he know?

“You can explain properly when you feel better, Nathan,” Abby said. “Right now, I think we all need to try and eat something and then get some sleep. It's been a long day.”

“Abby's right. I'll see what we have to eat that doesn't need to be cooked. I haven't found the camping stove yet.” Matt raised a smile, it was almost a relief to be thinking about practicalities instead of those he had lost. He foraged around in the boxes of food they'd taken from the supermarket and found some bags of crisps and nuts, some biscuits and a large slab of chocolate. It would do for now.

They ate in silence. No-one really knew what to say anyway. Matt began to hunt around for blankets and something they could use for pillows; the panic room was built for survival purposes, there should be something. Becker had equipped it with foil survival blankets which Matt passed over to Abby and Nathan, but nothing that could pass for pillows.

“These are great for distracting Raptors,” Abby said absently. “Connor lost his after just a few weeks in the Cretaceous, so we ended up sharing mine and...” She choked back her sobs and turned away from Matt, pretending to be having problems unfolding her blanket.

“Nathan can have the bed tonight, Abby you can take the chair,” Matt said, sensing Abby's need to have a moment for her own thoughts.

“What about you, Matt?” Abby said, pulling herself together. “You need to sleep too.”

“I'll be OK on the floor in the corner. This is just like being home for me.” He forced a smile; this really was like home. In the future that he had come from, living like this was the norm. He had moved from underground bunker to bunker, taking minimal food and water when he could.

“Matt...” Abby started to argue, but he gave her a look that told her to let it go. Nathan was already drifting asleep. Abby sighed. “Poor kid, he's exhausted.”

“I think we all are. We need to get some rest so we can have clear heads tomorrow. The air in here isn't going to stay breathable for much longer; we may only have a few hours to try and work out how we can sort all of this out,” Matt said softly.

Abby nodded, and curled herself into the chair beside the bed. She pulled the foil blanket around her and closed her eyes, remembering the last time she'd wrapped herself in one. Things had seemed pretty hopeless then too, and it had all worked out. Perhaps it would this time too?

Matt settled himself into the corner, propping his body against a cupboard. He listened to the slightly wheezy breathing of Nathan, and then the soft rhythmic breathing of Abby. Sleep had overcome both of them, but it would not come for Matt. This was the very nightmare he was supposed to have prevented from happening – instead, he'd simply accelerated it; killing the human race hundreds of years earlier than it had happened before. He was a failure. Everything he'd worked towards; all those years of training and personal sacrifice for nothing.

He should have realised it was Burton and Connor sooner; if he'd prevented New Dawn from being built in the first place, this wouldn't have happened. With hindsight, all the evidence was there and he should have seen it. If he could go back again, he'd make sure Connor never fell under Burton's influence. He'd have enlisted Abby's help sooner and maybe she could have stopped Connor before he started. It was all too late now though; he couldn't go back. The anomalies here were too unpredictable. Even if one opened up right now in the middle of the room, there'd be no way of knowing where or when it would take him. The anomalies in his time were a little more predictable; they'd been able to calculate exactly when the right anomaly would open to take him to the year 2003.

He glanced briefly over at the sleeping figures across the room. At least they were at peace for a while. There was an inevitability about their situation. Once the oxygen was used up in the panic room they could probably move into the menagerie, but that would only prolong things for another few hours. In just a few days, he firmly believed that the three of them would be like everyone else – dead.


	3. Chapter 3

Abby was woken by the sound of coughing. Nathan was sat up on the bed, trying to reach for the bottle of water that Abby had left on the side for him.

“Easy,” she said softly, passing him the bottle. Her own chest felt tight and her head ached but she pushed that aside to worry about Nathan. She'd felt like this before; during those first few days in the Cretaceous she'd felt sick and breathless. Connor had said it was due to the differences in oxygen levels in the air and that they'd get used to it after a while. They'd never actually thought that they'd be there long enough to become acclimatized. The fact Abby felt unwell now meant only one thing – the oxygen level in the room was dropping.

Nathan rummaged in his pockets but couldn't find what he was looking for. “My inhaler... must... have... dropped it,” he wheezed. A slight look of panic spread across his face, which Abby picked up on straight away. She pulled over an oxygen tank and passed him a mouthpiece. He nodded gratefully and inhaled a few times until his breathing eased.

“Thanks, I guess I owe you guys my life.”

“You're welcome. What were you doing at the power station and how did you find us?” Abby said.

“Been following you for a while now. My friend was killed by a pack of Hyenadons that came through one of those gateways, and ever since I've been trying to find answers. I need to know who is responsible for Daniel's death.” Nathan blinked, determined not to cry. “No-one would believe me. They tried to tell me that I'd imagined it because Daniel and I had been drinking, but I know what I saw Abby.”

“I'm sorry. How old were you?”

Nathan began to tell Abby about the terrible afternoon that Daniel was killed. She listened without a word, her heart aching for him. She knew only too well how it felt to lose a friend because of something that came through an anomaly, but for it to happen at such a young age, no-one should have to deal with that.

“I spent hours on the Internet, trawling through all the weird creature sightings in the hope someone else had seen something similar. Your people did a great job of keeping things under wraps, but eventually I found it... a blog by someone who had seen a glowing ball on the M25 and a mammoth rampaging down the middle of it.”

Jenny's team were supposed to have found and ordered the deletion of every mention of that incident. Abby remembered Connor saying it was impossible and Jenny giving him a scowl and telling him that she had every confidence in her team. It seemed Connor had been right.

“And that led you to us?”

“Pretty much. I emailed the guy that wrote the blog and he said he'd seen a bunch of guys lead the mammoth into a truck and then drive off with it. He said they took charge and seemed to know exactly what they were doing. At that point, I believed those people were responsible for creating the gateways and letting the creatures through to kill people... and I had to find them to make sure they paid for what happened to Daniel.”

Abby backed away a little. Nathan seemed angry, had he spent all this time tracking them down to come and kill them in revenge for his friend's death? “But we didn't make the anomalies, Nathan.... at least not the ones that just appear randomly. We were trying to understand them in the hope that one day we could stop them. We lost friends too.” She reached out and stroked his hand.

“I know that now. That's why I've been following you. You were lost for a while too weren't you? You said something last night about the Cretaceous and survival blankets, and I didn't see you for a long time.”

Abby nodded. “Connor and I were trapped on the wrong side of an anomaly. It was a year before we were able to get home.”

Nathan whistled. “You survived a year in the Cretaceous era? Of all the eras to be stuck in... some of the most deadliest predators that ever lived were from that period!”

“Tell me about it! We had several close encounters, but we got through it.” Abby sighed. “You know your stuff then?”

“I figured that the only way to get the answers I need would be to join you. I studied electronics, physics and computer science, and spent every spare minute researching prehistory.”

“Geek!” Abby teased.

“Hey, you may laugh, but I have a feeling you need me now that the rest of the team are...” he stopped, realising that he perhaps shouldn't be pushing himself in as a replacement for Abby's dead colleagues when they had only died yesterday. “Sorry.”

“It's OK. And you're right. I'm the creature expert, Matt's the brawn. We'll need brains if we're to get through this.” She squeezed Nathan's hand to reassure him that he hadn't stepped out of line.

“Where is Matt? I heard him moving around earlier.”

Abby stood up and stretched. She was stiff after a night being curled in an awkward position on the chair. “Will you be OK whilst I go look for him?”

“Not planning on going anywhere.”

Abby smiled. At a guess, Matt must have ventured outside for some reason. He couldn't have gone far, none of the oxygen tanks had been taken. She found him just outside the large doors at the loading bay where they'd let Nathan through last night.

The familiar, and somewhat comforting, smells of coffee and bacon reached her nostrils. Matt was cooking, leaning over a small gas stove. He was so engrossed in what he was doing he hadn't heard Abby approach. She watched him for a few moments, recognising the look on his face. She'd seen the same look on Connor's face so many times when they were back in the Cretaceous; he too would throw himself into a task so that his focus would shift from the painful reality of their situation. It was clear that Matt had barely slept; the dark circles around his eyes would betray him if he tried to deny it. Right now, she guessed he blamed himself for this whole situation; Connor had done the same.

“Smells good,” she finally said, letting him know she was there.

He looked up and smiled. “Thought I'd surprise you with breakfast. Is Nathan awake?”

Abby nodded. “We've both been up for a while.”

“How is he? Asking questions I suppose?”

“Not really. He's not just some random passer by that got lucky in finding us. He's been following us for a few years.” Matt looked at Abby questioningly. “His friend was killed by a pack of Hyenadons, and he's been looking for answers.”

“A vigilante? Great, just what we need!”

“I think he could help us, Matt. He knows his stuff.”

Matt stood up and wiped his hands on his jeans. “It's too late for help, Abby.” He started to pile pieces of bacon onto the plate he had at the side of the stove and picked up the pot that he'd been boiling the coffee in.

“You're giving up?” Abby said, shaking her head. Matt ignored her and moved towards the doorway to go back to the panic room. “Matt?”

He stopped and turned angrily. “If we're lucky we have two, maybe three, days of breathable air left. I failed, Abby. I was supposed to stop this from happening. Now I just have to accept that this was how it was meant to be all along and just make the most of the last few hours we have.” He turned again, and strode purposefully back through the car lot.

“So you're just forgetting everything you've ever done in your life?” Abby called after him. “Didn't you tell me that your entire life has been devoted to trying to save the future?”

“Yes,” he said, trying to calm the situation and end the conversation. “But unless an anomaly opens in the next 48 hours that also just happens to be one that will take us back a few months, there's nothing we can do. It's over, Abby.”

Abby stood still and watched Matt go into the panic room. Part of her knew he was right; there was a sense of inevitability about this, but another part of her was saying that he was wrong. There had to be something they could do, she just couldn't think what that was at the moment. By the time she was back in the panic room, Nathan and Matt were hungrily devouring the bacon as if they hadn't eaten in weeks.

“I hope you saved some for me,” she said quietly. Matt nodded at the plate he'd left for her on the chair and she picked it up gratefully. They ate in silence and sipped the strong coffee. Abby hated black coffee, but the caffeine was waking her senses up so she tolerated the slightly bitter taste.

“So what's the plan of action then?” Nathan said, looking expectantly from Abby to Matt. “You guys are going to open up one of those anomalies and go and sort all this out, right?”

“It's not quite that simple,” Abby said.

“But you can make those things, can't you? You said earlier that you didn't make the random ones, but that huge one at the power station yesterday... that was you guys wasn't it?”

Matt sighed. “Connor had developed a machine that makes anomalies... well, he made the prototype here in secret, and Philip Burton used his research to make the one you saw. But Connor's the only one that knows how and he's...” He stopped, catching the pained look in Abby's eyes.

“It's OK, Matt. You can say it.” Abby looked at Nathan. “Connor's dead, just like all the others.” The words stung, and she realised she was fiddling with the gold ring on her finger. It was possibly the only part of him she had left.

“Maybe I could... I know a bit... I appreciate it's a bit awkward, but I might be able to...”

“Absolutely not,” Matt said firmly. Abby gave him a look. “It's too dangerous.”

“What have we got to lose?” Abby hissed. “If Nathan can get Connor's prototype up and running and make an anomaly...”

“And then what Abby? We could end up in a worse situation than the one we're in.”

“With respect, Matt. What could possibly be worse than this?” Nathan said.

There was a silence. Matt began to pace around the room, his face twisted as he battled with his thoughts. Nathan was right; they were already on borrowed time. What harm could it do to let the boy at least have a look through Connor's research notes? “Go and get Connor's laptop,” he said to Abby. “It should have a couple of hours battery left on it, and that'll give me time to work out how to start up the emergency power generator.”

Abby suddenly felt her heart leap. Things may seem pretty dire, but at least now it felt like they were doing something to try and make it better.

-o-

Connor's lab was pretty much as he'd left it. Paperwork scattered everywhere, gadgets in various states of completion and a half drunk mug of tea next to the laptop on his desk. It was almost as if he was coming back in any second. Abby closed her eyes and remembered being in here not so long ago and copying his hard drive to give to Matt. Maybe if she'd done that sooner instead of questioning Matt, they'd have worked out what he and Burton were up to in time.

“Woah!” Nathan's eyes were wide as he scanned the room. “He had some pretty decent kit in here!”

“Connor was very good at what he did,” Abby said proudly. “And Burton provided him with the best. It's a shame Connor didn't realise he was being used.”

Nathan blew the dust from the laptop and opened it up. It seemed intact, the blast hadn't damaged it in any way. “We should head back, I'm starting to feel a bit weird.”

Abby nodded. She took a lingering glance around the room before ushering Nathan out into the corridor. “There's something I need to do. Come with me.” She led the way through the ARC, smiling at Nathan's wide-eyed expression, and then into her own office. “This is where I work most of the time,” she said. “And through there is the menagerie.”

“Menagerie?”

“Come and look.” She opened up the airlock and guided him in, then pushed him into the main room towards the large window. “Remember the blog you read that lead you to us? The mammoth?” Abby nodded down into the holding pens.

Nathan's mouth dropped open. Below him was a large Colombian Mammoth, exactly as the man had described in his email. Beyond that he could make out other creatures pacing around. “These all came through anomalies?”

Abby nodded and stood next to Nathan, looking down herself. “Ideally, we'd send them all back to their own times if we could. They don't belong here. Trouble is, even if we found another anomaly that led to the right era we couldn't be certain we were sending them back to where they originated from. It would be like us finding you and sending you back through an anomaly into any time that had humans – you could end up with cavemen, or you could end up hundreds of years in the future.”

At that moment, something clung to the window. “Rex!” Abby exclaimed. She held her hand out to the window, and Rex dipped his head as if he wanted her to tickle him.

“Cute,” Nathan smiled. “Coelurosauravus?”

“You really do know your stuff! Yeah, He's pretty domesticated now. He lived with me and Connor for a while until we got trapped in the Cretaceous. He's pretty much at home in here with all the other creatures.” Abby felt her throat tighten; what was going to happen to all of these creatures now? After putting in so much hard work to make sure they survived, they would all probably suffer the same fate that everything else had eventually. Their food would last another couple of days since she'd only replenished the feeders yesterday, but the air would probably run out before that.

Nathan rested his hand on Abby's shoulder. “I told you I studied hard didn't I? I want to be a part of this team and help in any way I can.” He tapped Connor's laptop. “Let's go back and see if I can decipher some of Connor's work.”

They made their way back to the panic room, and Nathan immediately cleared a space on the table at the far side so that he could set up the laptop. Matt muttered something about the emergency generator and disappeared.

“I don't think he likes me,” Nathan commented.

“Matt's OK but he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. He's not from here – this time I mean.” Abby said, pulling over a chair for Nathan.

“He's a time traveller?”

“He came from a future where the earth had become barren because of the anomalies. He was sent back to try and prevent it.”

“And now he thinks he's failed. I get it.” Nathan switched on the laptop and watched it start up. “Think I'd be a bit grumpy too. Ah, I need Connor's password.” He moved aside and looked away as Abby typed in the password. It was more out of habit than respecting privacy or security; it really didn't matter if he knew Connor's password or not.

Abby moved away and decided to give him space to work. She felt a little lost; useless almost. There was no way she'd even begin to understand Connor's notes, and it seemed Matt needed to be on his own for a while. All she could do was sit back and wait. Climbing onto the bed, she leaned back and closed her eyes. The constant tap tap tap of the keys on the computer should have driven her crazy, but it was a comfort; a familiar sound that meant work was being done.

Matt also felt useless. After getting the generator started, there wasn't anything else for him to do. He paced around the room, clearly agitated. Abby suggested that he went to the armoury to see if he could salvage any weapons. He'd agreed that was good idea and went off, much to Abby's relief. She didn't think they would actually need any weapons, but at least it gave Matt something to do. Abby just kept Nathan supplied with coffee and chocolate whilst he studied every single piece of Connor's work in the hope of finding something of use.

“Well this explains what happened with that giant anomaly,” Nathan said, nodding at the screen. Abby came over to look. The calculations meant nothing to her, but clearly they meant something to Nathan. “When Matt took Connor’s small anomaly into the core of Burton’s giant anomaly, the poles repelled each other. It seemed to work temporarily, but what it resulted in was a wave of gamma radiation - bit like the aftershock you get when a powerful earthquake hits, but more deadly.”

Abby nodded. It made sense; when the ARC had become infested by the deadly beetles that came through Connor’s prototype anomaly, Connor had reversed the polarity of it to create a wave of gamma radiation that would kill all the beetles. This was exactly the same, except it was on a disastrous scale. Knowing what had happened didn’t make things any better. Maybe Connor should have realised something like this would happen; perhaps he did but took a chance that it might work. Doing nothing would have resulted in Burton succeeding. 

“What's a dating calculator?” Nathan asked suddenly.

Abby came over and looked at the screen. “It's a device Connor invented a little while back. We can use it to give us an idea of what date the anomaly leads to.”

“Before the anomaly machine itself?” Abby nodded. “Then this doesn't make sense, unless... Was Connor working on something else?”

“I have no idea. Connor kept a lot of things secret when he started working for Prospero.” Abby sighed. “Have you found something?”

Matt came back from the armoury carrying a couple of EMDs and some power packs. He placed them down on the bed and came and joined Abby behind Nathan.

“It looks like Connor was thinking about how to rewire the dating calculator to combine it with the anomaly machine.” Nathan leaned back and stretched his stiff neck.

“For the purpose of?” Matt asked.

“Controlling the anomaly.” A smile spread across Abby's face. “Connor was trying to make it so that he could decide when and where the anomaly opened to.”

“That's what it looks like to me.”

“How far along was he with it?” Matt said, moving closer.

“Purely theoretical as far as I can tell,” Nathan said. “Just circuit diagrams and notes.”

“Damn it!” Matt slammed his hand down on the table then walked away. Abby felt her heart sink too. Theory was not much better than nothing at all. She turned away too, blinking back the tears forming in her eyes. The longer this went on, the more hopeless it felt.

Nathan was frowning at the screen. “Where is this dating calculator?”

“Connor would have had it on him when he went to Kings Cross. It's probably destroyed,” Matt said.

“No he didn't. He left it in the lab when he went to try and stop Philip from getting to New Dawn. It should still be there. Why?” Abby asked.

“Because I think I might be able to follow Connor's notes and turn the theory into reality.” Nathan grinned, and both Abby and Matt looked at each other.

“Are you saying you think you can create an anomaly exactly where we need it to be?” Matt hardly dare hope.

“Assuming Connor's calculations are correct, then yes; that's exactly what I'm saying.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “The day it all changed; and now we're going to change it again.”

Abby wished she knew more about electronics; or at least understood how to interpret all of the calculations on Connor's laptop. It seemed almost cruel that she had been spared and not him when he was the only one who could put things right. Nathan had been working non-stop for almost 4 hours now, rubbing his eyes and only really looking up from his work when either Abby or Matt brought him a drink or something to eat.

The air in Connor's lab was practically toxic, and Nathan had an oxygen mask strapped over his face so that he could work. They'd tried to move the anomaly machine down into the panic room, but Nathan was concerned it would knock it out of alignment and it could take hours to recalibrate it – Time that they just didn't have.

Abby was struggling, not just with the physical act of breathing, but with this whole set up. It should be Connor doing this, not some stranger they'd only known for a day. She could watch him work for a few minutes before she had to leave, using the bad air as an excuse. Matt seemed to be coping a little better; his lungs were used to this air to a certain extent so he could tolerate it for longer than Abby.

“Do you think he can do it?” Matt said, as he followed Abby out of the lab.

“I have no idea. We just have to hope he can.”

“We need to give some thought about where we go back to... An appropriate point where we can get to Connor before he's been taken in by Burton.”

Abby sighed. She'd been trying to think when it all changed; when was the turning point that made Connor decide Burton was right? She'd always had her doubts about him, but Connor had practically hero worshipped him the moment he'd clapped eyes on him. Maybe that was it; they had to stop Connor meeting Burton in the first place – but how? There would be no way she could prevent Connor from going back to the ARC; it was all he talked about during their time in the Cretaceous and it was what had kept him motivated every day.

“How about we stop Burton from coming into the ARC?” Abby said.

Matt shook his head.”Without Prospero, the ARC would never have been re-commissioned. This place has to exist otherwise Burton would just conduct his research elsewhere and would be impossible to trace.”

“Then we go back to the time of the old ARC, before Connor and I disappeared. We warn our younger versions of ourselves not to...”

“Not to go after Helen Cutter and risk having her destroy all of humanity? We can't do that either. Think, Abby! There must have been something that Connor did to make Burton change his mind about him. He was reluctant to even give Connor the time of day when you first came home. He said that Connor was undisciplined in his Science; then suddenly he was taking him under his wing and making him keep secrets from us all.”

“The lockdown!” Abby said. Connor hadn't told her much about that afternoon, but Jess had. Connor had saved Burton's life by hacking into the computer system that Burton had thought impenetrable. It was also the day that Emily had come through the anomaly at the old theatre with Ethan.

“So, we drag Connor away and stop him from saving Burton?” Matt grinned. “I like it.”

For a moment Abby believed it sounded like the perfect plan, but then another thought hit her. “No, if he doesn't save Burton, he doesn't save Rex either. We have to stop the lockdown happening in the first place. It was Rex that triggered it because he escaped from the menagerie... we stop Rex from getting out, and we stop the lockdown... and Burton still thinks Connor's not worth anything.”

“There's just one flaw in the plan,” Matt sighed, glancing back at the lab door. All of this planning was irrelevant if Nathan couldn't work out how to control the anomaly.

-o-

Another couple of hours passed, and Abby felt herself almost drifting off to sleep. She'd warmed some soup for all them about an hour ago, and Matt had pulled out some bottles of beer from the stash of supplies they'd taken from the supermarket. Alcohol always made her sleepy, and right now she would love to curl up in a soft bed and just sleep. She wondered if she'd ever actually wake up if she did; and that thought wasn't as scary as it should have been. At least if she died she'd be with Connor again.

Nathan had looked really tired when she took his soup up to him, but he was focussed and said he thought he was making progress. She was worried about him; he needed to rest for a little while, but getting him to actually do it would be near impossible. Connor was exactly the same when he was working on a project. Matt was busy tinkering with an EMD in the corner, so she left him to go up to talk to Nathan.

She stood watching Nathan for a few moments, and then saw something that made her heart beat rapidly. He was holding something in his hands that looked familiar; it was almost the same as the device they'd used to follow Helen Cutter. Had Connor deliberately based his design on that, or had Nathan interpreted them in this way? Was all of this actually supposed to happen and it was Nathan and Connor that had invented the devices in the first place? Abby smiled to herself; Connor had definitely rubbed off on her with all his talk of time not being linear.

“I came to try and persuade you to take a break,” she said softly. “But that looks promising.”

Nathan nodded. “I was going to do a test before I called you and Matt in. I've followed all of Connor's notes and I think this is it.”

“We don't have to wait. I'll get Matt!” Abby ran down the corridor, feeling breathless almost straight away and her chest tightening. The lack of oxygen was becoming a major issue now, and they probably only had a matter of hours before their bodies would begin to shut down in protest. Matt saw her face and knew immediately that Nathan was ready to open an anomaly, so he raced with her back to the lab and stood by the desk.

“I haven't tested this yet,” Nathan said nervously. “If it doesn't work, I'm sorry.”

“Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for,” Abby said, putting a reassuring arm around his shoulder. “Neither of us could have done this. We've given it our best shot, that's all that matters.”

“Abby's right. We had to take a chance. Now, let's fire this up and give it a try!”

Nathan nodded, took a deep breath and switched everything on. The machine hummed as it warmed up, and then the device in Nathan's shaking hands beeped. “OK, it's ready. What's the date you need me enter in?”

“7th March, 2011” Abby looked at Matt. “The day it all changed; and now we're going to change it again.”

A few button presses later, the device was being pointed at the anomaly machine and then it sprang into life. A chill ran down the length of Abby's spine as the small anomaly appeared between the two disks of the machine, no more than 50 centimetres tall.

“I thought it would be bigger than that,” Nathan commented. “Even if it is in the right time and place, we'll never know. None of us could get through that!”

“Abby could,” Matt said. He turned to her. “You have to go through; you're our only chance.”

“I'm not leaving you and Nathan here to die!”

“It's not about two people surviving, Abby. It's about saving millions. If you don't go through and stop Connor, then all that death and destruction you saw happens and this planet dies.” Matt placed both his hands on Abby's shoulders and lowered his voice. “It's down to you now. There's nothing else Nathan and I can do.”

“There has to be some way of making it bigger? I am not going without the both of you!” She shrugged Matt's hands away and moved over to the laptop. The rows of mathematical equations were meaningless, and she let out a cry of frustration.

“There's nothing in Connor's notes about size,” Nathan said. “The machine's fixed; we'd have to make a bigger one to get a bigger anomaly.”

Matt was removing his wrist band. “There's no arguing, Abby. Take this – it contains all those images that I showed you before. Show them to Connor if you have to and use this to prove your story to the other version of me. Where you're going, I haven't told anyone that I'm from the future.”

Abby slumped onto the desk, burying her head in her hands. Matt and Nathan had made up their minds but she hadn't. The small anomaly glowed in front of her and it seemed to be almost drawing her into it. This was all happening too quickly; perhaps a part of her had already resigned herself to the same fate as the others? The thought of dying no longer scared her, but being alone on the other side of that anomaly did. What if she made a mess of it and she had to watch everyone she cared about die again? Matt's arm rested over her shoulders for a moment and then she turned, burying her head in his chest and arms. “Abby,” he whispered. “You can do this. For everyone... for Connor.”

“OK,” she finally said. The mention of Connor seemed to pull her back together and she found something inside that gave her some much needed self belief. “If you're sure there's no other way...” Wiping a stray tear from her cheek, she pulled herself up onto the desk onto all fours and took a deep breath.

“Wait!” Nathan grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. “When you've saved the world, look me up eh?” He blinked away his tears and smiled. “Wouldn't mind meeting your Connor properly and maybe working with him on all this stuff.”

Abby pushed the piece of paper into her pocket and then leaned in to kiss Nathan's forehead lightly. “I think you and Connor would get on like a house on fire!”

Nathan pressed something else into her hands too; the hard drive containing all of Connor's research. “Might come in useful,” he said, winking. “It's Connor's work anyway, he should have it.”

“You have to go.” Matt looked serious. “If that anomaly has opened to the right place, it'll probably have set off the alarm at the ARC and the team will be on the way to deal with it. You don't want to run into anyone until you're ready.”

Abby nodded. This was it. With a deep breath, she began to crawl towards the anomaly. She paused for a brief moment to glance back at Matt. She needed the reassurance that she was doing the right thing, and his smile told her she was. That familiar rush of static as she approached the anomaly felt almost comforting, but behind her the sound of Matt and Nathan's coughing and wheezing made her heart ache and her stomach churn. Nathan probably only had a matter of hours once his oxygen tank ran out; Matt might last a day or so with his stronger lungs... but the inevitable would happen. She was leaving them to die.


	5. Chapter 5

The clean, breathable air on the other side of the anomaly took Abby's breath for a moment. It felt good to fill her lungs again and the warmth of the sun on her face made her smile. Glancing back, she took a final look at the anomaly and the two people she was leaving behind as it slowly faded. Nathan would have switched the machine off – no going back for her now, and no way for Matt and Nathan to join her.

A familiar voice jolted her back to reality and she picked herself up, looking for somewhere she could hide until she was certain where and when she was. There was a narrow alleyway between two houses about 5 metres away, so she ducked down it and pressed herself against a wall to hide herself in the shadows.

“Jess, are you sure the co-ordinates are right? There's nothing here.” It was Matt, and he was alone. Jess was obviously telling him the anomaly had closed and he was turning away to go back to his car. “OK, well I'll go and join Abby and Becker at the other anomaly. The old theatre on Croft street right?”

Abby smiled and felt her heart pounding. The device had worked! She was in the exact day that she needed to be – she remembered that Matt had arrived late because he'd been dealing with some personal business and that she and Becker had had to leave Connor behind at the ARC to do some work for Burton.

It was the thought of seeing Connor again that urged her forward. It had only been a couple of days since he'd died, and she hadn't allowed herself to grieve for him yet. Now she didn't have to. He was alive here and as long as she did this right he would remain alive – along with everyone else. She could also make sure that Matt didn't send Emily away and admit that he had feelings for her, and maybe they could focus on finding Ethan and holding him so that when Danny finally came back he could work things out here without having to disappear again.

Making sure Matt had left, she came out from her hiding place and tried to work out where she was. The street was very familiar, and Abby half smiled. She didn't believe in fate, but something had brought her to this point. At the far end of the street were some apartments nearing completion; apartments that she and Connor had moved into about a month from where she was now. They were the first ones to move in and had had the complex to themselves for 10 days before another couple moved in opposite them.

If she walked, it would take her almost half an hour to get to the ARC. Normally, that wouldn't concern her but she needed to be there as soon as possible. If Matt was already on his way to the theatre, then events would be unfolding at the ARC too. She had to get there and find Rex before Connor's scan did and locked down everything. The local bus route would also take too long, so she had no choice other than to flag down a black taxi cab in the High street.

Getting into the ARC itself was not a problem – she was still Abby Maitland and her biology hadn't changed, so her tag worked and the retinal scan on the main entrance recognised her and she went straight in. Staying hidden was another matter. To get into the menagerie and the air lock, she would have to go past the main hub where Jess sat.

As she approached, she heard Connor's voice and a lump came into her throat. It was taking every ounce of self restraint she had not to just run over to him and hug him. His voice was slightly raised; a rarity for him, so Abby crept closer to try and hear what was going on. She could hear her own voice over the comms, and Becker's, then realised that this was when Becker had locked the anomaly and Matt was trapped the other side. It meant Connor and Jess would be distracted for a few minutes as they tried to persuade Becker to unlock the anomaly, giving Abby a chance to sneak past.

The small office next to the Menagerie was empty. The proposal she'd been working on when the alarm went off was strewn across the desk and the small air vent in the far corner was hanging off its fastening. That was where Rex had got in; he'd done it a couple of times prior to today and she'd been meaning to get it fixed properly. The truth was, she liked it when Rex squeezed through to come and see her so she was in no rush to get it done.

“Rex?” Abby waited for the familiar chirrup that would tell her where he was. He answered her but she couldn't see him. He must have still been inside the air vent. “Rex, come here!” She tried not to sound angry or impatient with him because she knew he wouldn't come otherwise. When he still wouldn't come to her, she searched in the drawers of her desk for a grape or piece of apple that she usually kept as a treat for him.

“Look what I've got for you!” She called out, holding a grape in the air. It worked; Rex squeezed out of the air vent and swooped down to land on Abby's shoulder. As he nibbled on the juicy grape, Abby stroked his head and smiled. “Do you have any idea of the trouble you cause?” she said softly. “Wrong place at the wrong time.” As he finished eating, Rex nuzzled into Abby's neck as if asking her for more and Abby began to head for the door to take him back to the menagerie. As she moved, she spotted a red beam of light on the wall opposite sweeping towards her – Connor had started the scan. Panicked, she looked for a way to get to the door without crossing the beam but it was impossible. Moments later, it touched her and Rex and an alarm sounded.

-o-

“What have you done?” Jess looked at Connor. The ARC had plunged into darkness and all around them doors had locked and shutters had gone down. The rest of the staff had evacuated the building as commanded by the electronic voice that had boomed out when the alarm sounded.

“Something bad?” Connor responded, looking at the incomprehensible jumble of letters and numbers on the computer screen in front of him.

Jess tried to raise Matt on the comms, but it seemed all external links were down. “Did you not know the scan was linked to the emergency lockdown?” she said to Connor, a slight hint of annoyance in her voice.

“I don't even know what lockdown is! Philip never mentioned any of this to me. What kind of idiot gives someone a job to do and doesn't even brief them properly?”

“Perhaps you'd like to explain to this 'idiot' how a creature came to be running loose in the ARC?” Philip's voice rang out over the intercom. Connor's heart sank – clearly internal communications still worked. It was his first proper day back in the ARC and he wasn't making the greatest of impressions. In fact, if he made it through today without being sacked it would be a miracle. He needed to do something to rectify his error.

“Let's worry about details later. How do I disarm the lockdown?” He tried to sound confident, but inside he was shaking.

Jess began typing furiously on her keyboard with a frown on her face. “I should be able to, I've got clearance.”

“Not any more,” Philip said. “I designed it so that in an emergency only senior staff would have control.”

Another voice crackled in the air. “Connor, you have to help me!”

“Abby?” Connor was confused. How could Abby be here? He'd only been speaking to her a few minutes ago; she was at the anomaly with Matt and Becker.

“I'm trapped in the office next to the menagerie with Rex. You have to get Philip to disarm the lockdown and soon!”

Philip had moved into the room and was leaning on the barrier, looking down into the hub. The smile tracing across his lips was almost like one of a snake luring its prey towards it before attacking. “It's just not your day today is it, Connor? First you trigger off the emergency lockdown, then you insult your new boss... and now you've managed to trap your girlfriend in an electronically sealed room which is slowly having all of the air sucked out of it.”

“What? What kind of security system does that?” Connor couldn't believe his ears.

Philip walked slowly down the stairs and towards Jess's console. “I designed it to neutralise any threat from an escaped creature permanently.”

“Connor!” Abby's panicked voice came over the intercom.

“Philip, you have to disarm it now! She'll die if you....”

“Easy Connor. Can't have an employee dying can we? Not so soon after losing Dr Page... too many awkward questions would be asked.” Philip smiled and entered in his passcode to the computer. He waited whilst it did a retinal scan to confirm his identity and then he typed in another sequence of letters. The ARC sprang into life again and Connor breathed a sigh of relief.

“Clearly I should have just let you go off chasing overgrown lizards. You're a danger to have around.” Philip turned on his heels, gave Connor a scornful look then disappeared into his office. Connor watched him and then turned to Jess.

“Great. Now he thinks I'm a complete idiot.”

“At least you still have a job, Connor,” Jess smiled. “And isn't being out in the field what you actually wanted?”

“True.” He sniffed and wrinkled his nose. He should be going to make sure Abby was OK, but something was puzzling him. Jess had a similar expression on her face as she began to check the whereabouts of the field team.

“Connor? How can Abby be with Matt and Becker at the anomaly and be in the office here too?”

“Maybe she gave her black box to one of them when she came back?” It sort of made sense, but at the same time it didn't. He'd only been speaking to her a few moments before the lockdown – there was no way she could have got herself into that room.

-o-

The relief was overwhelming. Abby had heard the conversation between Connor and Burton over the intercom and knew she'd stopped Burton from being impressed by Connor's computer skills. The first part of her mission was complete, all she had to do now was make sure that the version of Matt here knew it was Burton he was looking for.

The door of the office opened, and Connor stood there looking at her with a slightly bemused expression on his face. She couldn't help it; seeing him there alive and well made her cry.

“Abby?” Connor was at her side in an instant, his strong protective arms circling her and holding her against his chest. “What's going on?”

“Just hold me!” She couldn't stop shaking and the familiarity of Connor's body against hers only made it worse. Her Connor was dead; she thought she'd never feel this again. His fingers curled into her hair and she felt the warmth of his breath as he kissed the top of her head and then her forehead. Looking up, she saw the concern in his soft, chocolate brown eyes and suddenly she pushed aside the fact that this wasn't her Connor and sought his lips with hers.

It was a kiss that tasted almost as sweet as honey and felt like coming home; warm, comforting, safe. Her tongue tangled with his for a moment and when he pulled away, holding her face with both of his hands. “Someone has some explaining to do,” he whispered. “When you left earlier, you were in a white shirt and jeans, and your hair was tied back.”

Abby closed her eyes and smiled. Trust Connor to have actually noticed something like that, most men probably wouldn't.

“And there's no way you could have got from the anomaly, got changed and in here unless... there's two of you.”

“I came through an anomaly.” Abby wiped the tears from her cheeks and sat upright. She knew as soon as the words left her mouth what Connor's reaction would be.

He blinked, trying to remain calm. “How far from the future are you from?”

“About six months.”

“Am I dead?” Abby nodded. Connor practically exploded. “Didn't we talk about this in the Cretaceous? We can't change our own past; what will be will be. If you've come back to warn me how I die then I don't want to know... I can't know! You know how I feel about that, Abby and I'm surprised you...”

“It's not that straight forward, Connor! It's not just you that dies.”

“Then explain it to me, Abby. Explain why you've broken every rule that Cutter came up with.” Connor leaned back and folded his arms, a stern look on his face.

“I don't even know where to begin!” Abby blinked back her tears. Connor's face softened and he took her hand.

“How about you start with why you came to this point?”

So Abby began with the events of the day as they'd been – with Burton being trapped and not her, and how Connor had had to hack into Burton's security system to rescue him. She told him that Burton had been so impressed he asked Connor to work for him at Prospero on a project called New Dawn.

“Oh great! So you just stopped me from getting a job with Philip!” Connor rolled his eyes. Abby felt her heart sink when she saw his expression. She knew how much he admired Burton and the thought of actually working for him would be like a dream come true for him.

“You changed. Burton made you think that you were working on something that would benefit mankind, but he was just feeding you lines to make you do his dirty work. He knew Helen Cutter – when Danny comes back in a few weeks from now, he tells Matt that Helen had papers on her with Philip Burton's name on them, and that's what alerted us that he was up to no good.”

Abby could see Connor trying to get his head around what she'd just said. His eyebrows knitted together as they often did when he was deep in thought. What she was going to tell him next would blow his mind, and he'd probably get angry too. She removed the wristband that Matt had given her and took off the small chip. She placed it on the desk, and just as Matt had done for her she switched it on and a screen flickered into view.

“What the?” Connor's mouth dropped open. He'd never seen such technology except in a Sci-Fi film.

“This belongs to Matt. He's from the future... many years in the future. His world was barren, the air unbreathable and no life could exist on the surface.” The images Matt had shown her appeared – London in ruins, a desolate, barren landscape and people struggling for air.

Connor swallowed. He couldn't find his voice to even argue with Abby; he just looked at her, begging her to continue with what she knew.

“It was caused by someone interfering with the anomalies, and Matt was sent to try and find who it was and stop them.”

“Philip.” Connor said, the realisation hitting him hard. His hero had destroyed the world.

“And you,” Abby said softly. She squeezed his hand. “Burton had you doing all the research in secret, isolating you from everyone – including me. By the time Matt and I realised what was going on, it was too late. New Dawn was a giant machine that opened a huge man made anomaly. He told you that the energy that could be harnessed from it would provide free energy for everyone, but instead it would poison the air and destroy everything.”

Tears fell silently down Connor's cheeks as he stared at the images in front of him. He had destroyed the world! How could he have been so stupid as to be taken in? “How did you survive?” he finally said, turning to Abby.

“We destroyed New Dawn, and we thought that was it and we'd won. Burton was killed and we walked away, back to the ARC and normality.” Abby's hand moved unconsciously to the ring on her left hand; Connor's ring. Did she tell him about the conversation they'd had on other side of Philip's anomaly? Or that she'd asked him to marry her when they got back? “But the anomaly was too powerful and it tried to reopen, sending out a powerful aftershock of gamma radiation and destroying everything in its path. I was saved because I was in the Menagerie at the time, and Matt was in the panic room. There was a young guy on the outside too, Nathan Somerville. He hid inside a concrete underground bunker then came and found Matt and I. By some miracle it turned out he was a bit of a computer geek and he understood your research notes. It was him that created an anomaly small enough for me to come through … and here I am.”

“Here you are,” Connor tried to smile. “So you left Matt and this Nathan behind to die?” Abby could only nod. Tears were prickling her eyes again and she couldn't fight them any longer. “Everyone died?”

“I saw your body, Connor! Becker's, Jess's, Lester's... do you have any idea how that felt?” She let out a loud sob and Connor's arms folded around her tightly. She held onto him as if her life depended on him, and she felt the dampness of his tears on her neck.

After some minutes, Connor finally pulled himself together and released his grip on Abby's trembling body. “It's all going to be OK now though, yeah? Be kind of fun having two of you around...”

“No, Connor. It's not all OK yet. Burton was working on New Dawn before you came along; you just provided the final piece in the puzzle. He could still do it.” Abby wiped her face, trying to compose herself.

“Then we have to stop him, Abby. We'll tell Lester, and Matt and Becker and … you, and we stop him somehow.” The look of sheer determination on Connor's face was one she hadn't seen in a long time and it made her heart leap. They could actually do this.


	6. Chapter 6

It was a slightly surreal moment, watching her old self walk into the room holding hands with Connor. Abby had to fight back a slight pang of jealousy and remember that she was the one that didn't belong here and that other Abby was perfectly entitled to hold hands with the man she loved. The rest of the team were here too; Matt, Becker, Jess and Lester. To see all of them alive made her smile. All of this would be so worthwhile if they all survived.

She looked at her younger self, who was eyeing her with curiosity. Her hair was pulled back into a pony tail, at this point in time her hair was still tangled from the Cretaceous and she was visiting the hairdresser every other day to have more tangles combed out. It was a long and painful task and she could only bare it for an hour or so at a time. Connor had asked why she didn't just have it cut short like she'd had before, but Abby wanted to keep it long. Going back to short, cropped hair would be like taking a backwards step. “It would remind me of the old me, the Abby I was before we were trapped together,” she had told him. “I didn't like that Abby very much.”

Lester cleared his throat and everyone's attentions turned to him. “I trust Connor has filled everyone in on the current situation? There's no-one wondering why we have two Abbys here?” Everyone indicated that they were up to speed, so Lester sat down at his desk.

Matt spoke first. “I hope you all understand why I didn't tell any of you that I was from the future? All I knew was that someone interfered with the anomalies, and intelligence suggested it was connected to someone at the ARC. I had to earn everyone's trust so that whoever it was would eventually reveal themselves. I didn't like lying to you all, and I'm sorry.”

Becker's mouth twitched. Abby recognised the look he was giving Matt. Of all the team, Becker would be the one that felt most betrayed. He'd worked with him the longest, and despite some initial reservations he had warmed to him and accepted Matt as the team leader.

“None of that matters now,” Abby said. “The important thing is stopping Philip Burton from continuing his research. Without Connor's knowledge it'll take him considerably longer, but he's an incredibly intelligent man with money and technology at his fingertips.”

“Agreed,” Lester said. “Whilst he and Prospero remain at the ARC, he will have access to all of our files and data.”

Becker cracked his knuckles and everyone turned to look at him. Matt smiled. “Easy, Becker. Violence is not the solution here.”

“Would make me feel a whole lot better.”

“You remember what it was like around here after Connor, Abby and Danny disappeared... and then Sarah's death. Without the money that Burton put into the ARC, we wouldn't exist now.” Matt said.

They all nodded silently, remembering that dark time and how Burton's investment had re-fired the project and made it possible for them to have hope again.

“We have to be cleverer than Burton is,” Lester said finally. “We now have the benefit of knowledge on our side; we're more than one step ahead of him thanks to Abby. As far as he knows, we're completely oblivious to what he's doing. It stays like that whilst we decide what we're going to do. Get thinking everyone, and as soon as someone comes up with a decent plan, we'll discuss it.” Lester nodded to indicate that the meeting was over and everyone dispersed.

“Abby,” Lester called. Both of them turned, and Lester blushed. “Sorry, I meant our visitor from the future.” Both Abbys exchanged an embarrassed glance. “Do you have somewhere to stay? I can make arrangements for you.”

“She can stay with us,” the other Abby said. Abby blinked and smiled gratefully at her younger self. She shouldn't have been surprised; she would have done exactly the same, but she hadn't expected it.

“It won't be too weird?” she asked.

“I suppose it was going to happen one day. Sooner or later one of us was going to go through an anomaly within our own lifetime and try to change things. I just assumed it would be Connor.”

“Well, that's settled then!” Lester declared. He practically shoved both of them through the door.

-o-

Jess had disappeared to her room fairly early, leaving Abby with Connor and her younger self alone in the living room. Abby felt like an intruder, and her heart ached. Being so close to Connor and not being able to curl into his arms like the other Abby was painful. They listened as she explained in detail how she'd guessed that Matt was from the future and then how he'd got her to help him find out what Connor and Burton were actually doing. The hard drive was on the coffee table between the three of them, and Abby could see Connor's fingers almost twitching. She knew he wanted to get his hands on it's contents.

“The research on there is valuable,” Abby said. “Burton used it to create something terrible, but it could be used for good. Nathan managed to use your small prototype machine and the dating calculator to open an anomaly to a pre-determined time and place... You could do that too. You'll be able to understand anomalies at last, and actually do the work Cutter wanted you to do.”

Connor picked it up and turned it over in his hands, staring at it. Then he placed it down again, looked at it and chewed his bottom lip. “The work on there... the research... that's what destroyed the world?”

Abby nodded and watched Connor's face twist in agony. His Abby squeezed his hand, stroked his cheek and whispered something to him. He blinked. “I'm not sure I want to know what's on it. Maybe you should've left it behind.”

“It's not the information that destroyed the world,” Abby said. “It was how it was used. Now you know exactly what it's capable of, you can make better choices.”

The three sat in thoughtful silence for several minutes until Connor sighed and stood up. “I can't get my head around this!” He blinked and said he needed to sleep, and then a thought hit him. “What are our sleeping arrangements?” A slight grin spread across his face.

“I'll be fine here on the sofa,” Abby said. She hid her own smile as she watched Connor's fade. Clearly, Connor had been hoping that she would join him and his Abby in bed – she knew him too well.

“Go on in,” the other Abby said. “I'll be there shortly. I want to chat to Abby.” Connor almost pouted, as if he was being dismissed to his bedroom like a naughty child. They waited until the door had clicked shut and then the younger Abby moved to come and sit next to her older counterpart. She took her hand and pointed to the ring on her finger. “I've been wanting to ask you about this all day,” she said quietly. “It's Connor's right?”

Abby nodded, and suddenly tears began to fall down her cheeks. She'd not allowed herself to think about the events leading up to Connor's death until now because they were too painful. Her mind had had to be so completely focussed on her own survival and then coming back to put things right that some things had been pushed aside to be dealt with later. Now, looking at the ring brought everything back to the very front of her mind. She had to tell someone, and it seemed her younger self would be the only one she really could confide in right now.

“There was a moment when we were through Burton's anomaly that Connor had given up,” she began. “He'd realised what he had done and was so completely ashamed he wanted Matt and I to just leave him behind to suffer the fate he felt he deserved. I had to give him something that would get him back on his feet; make him believe he still had something worth carrying on for.” She closed her eyes, remembering the look on Connor's face when she'd said the words. The younger Abby squeezed her hand.

“What did you say to him?” she whispered.

“I told him that I thought I was pregnant.” She watched her younger self's eyes widen. “I still don't know for certain. When we got back, I asked Connor to marry me and he slipped the ring on my finger. Before we'd even had chance to think about anything else, we were called to another anomaly and...” The tears finally beat her, and she began to sob uncontrollably. Comforting arms folded around her, rocking her gently and stroking her back.

“Tomorrow we'll go to the pharmacy and get a test done. We'll find out for certain,” the younger Abby said. “You don't have to worry, I'll take care of you and so will Connor. That baby is related to us in a way; it’s the very least we can do given the fact you've just saved all of our lives.”

“Thank you. The poisonous air I was breathing could have done all sorts of harm to it and I...”

“Shhh! We'll worry about that if we need to. Right now, you need to sleep. Do you want me to stay out here with you for a while?”

“No, I'll be fine,” Abby said, wiping her face. “Go to your Connor. Hold on to him and don't let him go. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid like my Connor did.”

“I will,” she whispered back and then slowly made her way to the bedroom door, pausing to look back once before going inside. Abby stared at the closed door for several minutes before pulling the blanket around her and settling down to try and sleep.

-o-

Perhaps it was the familiarity of the surroundings or just exhaustion finally overwhelming her, but Abby slept better than she'd done for a long time. Not even Connor woke her when he decided that he needed a drink in the night and had crept through the lounge. His attempts at being extra quiet resulted in him making more noise than he would've done if he'd just simply walked through normally, but Abby did not stir.

It was the smell of coffee that finally roused her; Jess always made a fresh pot every morning. As she rubbed her eyes and tried to focus, the familiar sound of Connor's mobile phone could be heard coming from behind the bedroom door. Abby had come to hate that ringtone; more often than not it had been Burton or April calling him and he would disappear off. She could hear his voice, but couldn't make out who he was talking to.

“Coffee?” Jess asked cheerily.

“Thanks, that would be nice.”

“Can I get you anything else? Toast? Cereal?” Jess began to pour Abby a coffee. Abby stood up and stretched, walking over to where Jess was.

“Coffee is fine,” she said. She'd barely taken a mouthful when the other Abby emerged from the bedroom, pulling her dressing gown around her and yawning.

“Connor's talking to Matt. It sounds like he has a plan to get rid of Burton; they're talking about hacking into computers and stuff,” she said. She poured herself a coffee too and leaned against the counter. “I think it's going to be a busy day. You might want to jump in the shower now before Connor uses up all the hot water... but I suppose you know that already.” She blushed.

A shower sounded wonderful; normality. Abby took another couple of mouthfuls of coffee then headed to the bathroom. She wasn't quite sure of the etiquette; this had been her home once and the toiletries and towels in the cupboard were hers... but they weren't. She hoped her other self wouldn't mind her using them.

By the time she emerged from her shower, refreshed and wide awake, Connor was sitting at the table eating toast with his laptop on. He was frowning and typing away furiously. He glanced up and smiled, then turned back to the screen. Abby sat opposite him and took a piece of toast from the middle of the table. “So, what's Matt plan?”

“Not entirely sure,” Connor replied. “He just wants to know if I can hack into the Prospero computer systems to upload some incriminating information. I'm not sure if I can; Burton's a genius and he'll have every security protocol on there you can name – and more.”

“But you did it before!” Abby exclaimed. “The day Burton was trapped by the lockdown. You hacked into the security system and disarmed it.”

“How?” Connor said. “It could take me weeks... and from what you've said that might be too late.”

Abby wished she knew. All she could remember was something about a 'back door', whatever that meant. Jess smiled; she knew what that meant.

“The new ARC systems were all built around the old ones. Connor's system is still there.”

“So if I can get into my old stuff, it'll give me access to the Prospero stuff at the ARC?” Connor grinned, practically bouncing in his chair. Jess nodded. “And once I'm in there, getting into the main server should be child's play!”

“What are we waiting for?” The younger Abby said. “The sooner we get to the ARC, the sooner we can do whatever Matt has planned.”

The four of them were out of the door before she'd finished speaking.

-o-

Matt had set up a computer screen in Lester's office and was nervously waiting for the Minister to arrive. Lester had insisted that the Minister was involved in this; they may need his influence within the government to make sure that the ARC team were not dragged down with Philip Burton. The others all waited, twiddling thumbs, biting nails and drinking the remains of the coffee Jess had made for everyone. Finally, Lester brought the Minister in and he settled down ready to listen to what Matt had to say.

“I did some research last night, and it seems Burton acquired a decommissioned power station last year under Prospero's name... the site where he builds New Dawn,” Matt began. He switched on the screen to show an image that Abby recognised only too well; the metal chimneys of the power station she'd seen collapse along with New Dawn. “To an ordinary passer by, the place still looks deserted – perfect for a secret research facility.”

Lester frowned. “That would be around the same time he came on board with us. It was planned all along! He had us all fooled from the start.”

“Well, we're one step ahead of him now,” Matt smiled. “If Connor can get into Prospero's systems, he can upload a whole trail of information that will point towards that facility being involved in research into weapons to be used for acts of terrorism.”

Connor's eyes widened. “Set him up you mean?”

“Exactly. Add in a few key words that will alert the right people and...”

“They think Prospero and Philip Burton are involved in some kind of plot to kill on a mass scale.” Lester finished.

“Well, that's partly true anyway. Do you think you can do it, Connor?” Matt said.

“Get me the information you want me to upload and I'll do it.” He was already on his feet ready to go to his office and get started.

“Take care, Connor. If Burton catches you, it could ruin everything. You have to be discrete,” Abby said stroking his shoulder then pulling away, remembering that he wasn't her Connor.

“Burton won't suspect me in the slightest, he still thinks I'm an idiot thanks to you!” His eyes glinted with amusement. Abby knew he was already thriving on this latest challenge, and he hadn't even got started.

The Minister cleared his throat and everyone looked at him. He was an intimidating man; ex-military and stone faced. “I can have one of my team work out the necessary information and get it to you by this afternoon. We have to ensure that the ARC operation is in no way implicated in these activities.”

“Of course. I'm sure Connor can cover his tracks so that nothing can be traced back to here.” Lester said. It was almost a command, not a request.

“Excellent. I'll leave it in your capable hands, James,” The Minister's mouth tightened into a thin line as he turned to leave, watched by the team. There was a silence as each contemplated what they were about to do.

“Don't just stand there!” Lester finally said. “We need to act as normal as possible so that Burton doesn't suspect we're up to anything... and we need to keep one of our Abbys hidden.” Everyone leapt to their feet to go about their respective 'normal' jobs, each placing a hand on Connor's shoulder as they passed to show their support for what he had to do. The two Abbys were the last to leave, each giving Connor a hug before turning to each other.

“We should go to the menagerie,” Abby said to her younger self. “Burton would never venture anywhere near, we'll be safe there.” They made their way silently to the menagerie; Abby lost in thought. She had no doubt that Connor could do this, but would it work? Was it enough? She could only sit and wait now – it was out of her hands.


	7. Chapter 7

There was something rather satisfying about watching the ashen face of Philip Burton on the TV screen surrounded by police officers and a hoard of journalists. Abby had been sat with the ARC team for the last two hours watching the drama unfold live on the BBC 24 hour news channel. Finally, she could relax; Burton was out of the way and Prospero existed in name only. The world would be safe – as least whilst Matt and Connor had anything to do with it.

It had taken Connor just over an hour to infiltrate Burton's security system at the ARC by using his old computer to get in through a back door. Once in, Connor could find everything he needed to mask himself as Burton – passwords, bio-data, IP addresses. From then on, everything Connor did left an electronic fingerprint that lead straight to Prospero and Philip Burton. The Minister had provided some excellent data that would leave enough crumbs of evidence to alert the anti-terrorism squad to the activity at the power station site, and it took Connor a matter of minutes to upload it into Prospero's mainframe computer. No-one would ever suspect Connor of doing it – after all, he was an idiot, undisciplined in his Science and not worthy of a second glance. Under estimating Connor's abilities was certainly going to come back and bite Burton big time and there was a sort of poetic justice to what he was doing.

They'd thought it would take at least a few days for the appropriate authorities to pick up the activity so everyone tried to go about their business as usual. However, someone must have tipped off the police and within hours all of Prospero's assets were frozen and seized, followed closely by an arrest warrant for Burton himself.

The official statement on the news was that Burton was being held for questioning under the Terrorism act after evidence had been found that his company was preparing weapons that would be used to carry out a devastating attack on lives on a mass scale. The ARC team knew he would be found guilty, and that such charges resulted in life imprisonment.

“Turn it off,” Lester said eventually. “I've seen enough.”

Matt flicked the switch off and the screen went blank. “So what now?” Becker said, voicing the concerns of everyone. “Burton owns half of the ARC. We could very well end up being dragged into all of this too.”

“The stuff I uploaded erased any trace back to the ARC,” Connor smiled. “As far as anyone outside of here knows, we're completely independent. Just like we were before.” He squeezed his Abby's hand and then reached for the other Abby's hand. “Well, almost like before.”

Abby pulled away and caught a moment of hurt in Connor's eyes. As much as she longed for his touch, she couldn't allow it. Somehow she had to grieve for her loss and move on with the rest of her life, and allow this Connor and Abby to get on with theirs the way it should be. They could actually do the things they'd talked about in the Cretaceous and she envied them.

“Yes, just like before. There are still anomalies out there and no doubt there will be some other evil megalomaniac waiting in the shadows to step into Philip Burton's shoes. We have to be ready, and sitting around here watching TV is not what I would call being ready.” Lester glared at everyone, and the hint was taken. Jess crept away muttering something about doing a full server back up, Becker followed, and then Connor and the younger Abby. Matt hesitated for a moment and turned to Abby.

“What about you? You can't go back.”

“I'll think of something,” she said.

“We can help you. A new identity, temporary accommodation until you're back on your feet... perhaps we could even find a place for you on the team.” Lester said.

“I haven't really thought about anything beyond stopping Burton and Connor. I've been sleeping on the sofa at Jess's so far.”

“That can't be easy,” Matt said softly. Abby sniffed. “I would offer you my sofa, but ...” he stopped and glanced uneasily at Lester.

“It's OK, I know you're sleeping on your sofa at the moment because Emily is staying at yours.” Abby smiled.

“Emily?” Lester's face twitched. “The girl that came through the anomaly the other day? I thought she went back – that's what your report says.”

“The anomaly closed before she could go back through,” Matt said quickly. “She had to go somewhere.”

“And you thought you'd be chivalrous and offer her your home?” Lester rolled his eyes. “Perhaps it's best that I don't know any more.” He turned to leave, shaking his head.

“Sorry,” Abby muttered. “Forgot that you and I are the only ones that know about Emily at this point.”

“It would come out eventually I suppose. I can't keep her cooped up in my flat forever. Look, I can make a few phone calls and find you somewhere to stay for a few days if being at Jess's with Connor and … Abby is awkward.” Matt placed a friendly hand on her shoulder. “Give you some time to think about what you want to do now.”

She placed her hand on his and squeezed it. It felt strange. In her time, she and Matt had become close friends, but this Matt was still guarded and almost distant. “Jess's sofa is fine. There's worse places I could be right now, but thank you. For everything. You have no idea how much you came to mean to me, especially when it was just me, you and Nathan.”

Matt blinked and his mouth curved into a slight smile. “I suppose I should go and make sure Emily is OK.”

As he turned to leave, Abby called him. “Matt, I know you've not allowed yourself to fall in love... but now all of this is over, you should consider letting someone in. Someone like Emily perhaps.” Matt raised his eyebrow and Abby swore his cheeks blushed. “Ethan is bad news and she needs to be protected from him. But he's just a lost soul; trapped the wrong side of an anomaly in a time he doesn't belong in just like us and Emily. His experiences have twisted his mind, but deep down there's a young man that needs help. You might want to look up Danny Quinn's biography before he returns in a few weeks.”

“What has Danny got to do with Ethan?”

“You know what?” Abby smiled. “Perhaps there's some things you need to find out for yourself. Just take care of Emily and make the most of being able to be with her.” For the first time in days, Abby felt a lightness in her heart and a spring in her step as she left a slightly bemused Matt behind. Maybe what she'd said about Emily would make him think; it was plainly obvious that they should be together and it was only Matt's walls that prevented him from letting her into his heart. Now he didn't need those walls it could be different. Then the Ethan thing; it would be hard for them and there was still potential for chaos of course, but she'd sewn enough seeds to raise Matt's curiosity. Somehow she had a feeling that right now he would be pulling out Danny's files.

Being back at Jess's flat also felt nice. Jess had ordered in some Chinese food and they spent the evening chatting – well, Jess, Connor and the younger Abby did. Abby just sat back and listened, resisting the urge to tell them certain things about the future – although she had changed events, so maybe some things wouldn't happen now?

With a full stomach, Abby settled herself onto the sofa and pulled the blanket around as the others made their excuses and went to bed. She heard Connor say something to Abby and then he came back, perched himself on the end of the sofa and cleared his throat.

“Me n' Abs, we've been talking. We'll be moving out of here in a couple of weeks as soon as our new flat is ready, so there'll be a spare room here. Jess would love to have you stay, and when the baby comes she'll be a great help – we'll all help.”

Abby closed her eyes. She still wasn't one hundred percent certain that she was pregnant; the test was still unopened in her bag. She reached into it and pulled out the box. Connor took her hand and looked at her.

“What are you afraid of?” he whispered. “Why haven't you done it yet? You won't be alone. I told you; we'll all help. That baby will have so many 'aunties' and 'uncles' you won't know what to do with them all!”

“I'm not afraid of being pregnant,” Abby said. “I'm afraid that I'm not. It's the one last piece of my Connor that I have to cling to.”

Connor held her face in both of his hands and forced her to look at him. “You can't put it off. Come on, we'll do this together.” He took the box from her hands and tore it open, pulling out the plastic paddle. “What do you have to do? Pee on this bit and wait?”

Abby nodded. “I think I'm supposed to do it in the morning though.”

Connor glanced at his watch. “It is morning. Surely it won't make that much difference? Now... go do your stuff and then bring it out here.” He practically shoved her towards the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Once inside, Abby knew there was no escaping. Minutes from now she'd know one way or the other and the rest of her life hung on the outcome.

She emerged a few moments later; shaking and fighting back tears. Connor took the test from her and Abby turned away. “Three minutes right?” Connor said. It felt like an eternity as she paced around the room, not daring to look at Connor because his face would tell her before his words did.

Finally, he placed his hand on her shoulder. “I guess a plus sign means you're pregnant?” He held the plastic strip out in front of her, and a grin spread across the entire width of his face before flinging his arms around her.

It was almost as if none of the events of the last few days had happened. For a moment, both forgot that the person in their arms was not the person they should be with. Connor's fingers tangled into Abby's hair and she pulled him into a soft kiss.

 

It was Abby that came back to reality first. Pulling away felt like losing Connor all over again. She told him she needed to be alone to get her head around the news, but the truth was she was afraid that she would not let him go if he stayed any longer. She sat on the sofa staring at the bedroom door for almost an hour after he'd gone inside to his Abby. Her heart ached and she felt an overwhelming sense of loss; but there really was only one thing she could do now.

-o-

The street was unremarkable. Rows of old terraced houses, cars parked outside virtually each one and black plastic wheelie bins scattered on the pavement. It was still fairly early in the morning and save for a couple of people leaving for work there was little activity. Abby glanced at the piece of paper in her hand – no 211. That was Nathan's house. She had promised him that she would look him up in this time and that was what she was doing now.

The house had three doorbells; it was clearly divided into three flats. The first two were marked with surnames, so Abby had to assume that the third belonged to Nathan. She rang it and there was a twitch of the curtain and the sound of scurrying feet in the hallway before the door opened.

Nathan's mouth dropped open when he saw Abby. He'd been following her and the ARC team for some time now and recognised her, but he'd been careful not to be seen by them. What was going on?

“I can't explain why I'm here, but I know who you are and what your story is,”Abby began. She took off her bio-tag id and handed it to Nathan. “You know where the ARC is. This'll get you inside, and then you need to speak to Connor. Tell him Abby sent you, and give him this. It explains everything.” She pulled a sealed envelope from her pocket; a letter to Connor. After he'd gone to bed, she had made a huge decision. Whilst she knew that the ARC team would always be there for her and her baby; especially Connor and Abby, she also knew that it would be incredibly difficult.

When she'd kissed Connor last night, she realised she couldn't be around him and not be with him. He had his Abby here, and a chance to do things properly with her; marriage, kids and everything else that went along with happy ever after. She had to sever all ties with this life because she didn't belong here.

“I don't understand?” Nathan said, scratching his head.

“You will. Just give that to Connor. He'll make sure you get a job at the ARC.”

She walked away without looking back, and took a deep breath. At the end of the street, she hesitated and glanced down to the left; the road that led back to Jess's flat and the ARC. Then she turned right and kept walking until she reached the bus station. The ticket she bought was for one way only, and would take her back to her old University and the Herpetology department she'd left almost 7 years ago. She'd read an article not so long ago about a research project they were beginning over on the Galapagos islands. At the time she'd commented that it would be the opportunity of a lifetime for someone.

Abby decided that that 'someone' was her and her unborn child.


End file.
